


Of Books and Dogs

by kai_foxflight



Series: A World Beyond [6]
Category: EXO (Band), SHINee, f(x)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast Fusion, F/M, Gender or Sex Swap, Genderbending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-06 01:06:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11589873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kai_foxflight/pseuds/kai_foxflight
Summary: Fairy tale princes only exist in books. Except Taeyeon found hers.





	Of Books and Dogs

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Beauty and the Beast

Taeyeon twirled a lock of her hair around a dainty finger, free hand flipping the page of a book on the table in front of her. With a heavy sigh, her eyes slipped closed and opened a few seconds later, focusing with much effort on the words floating before her eyes. “No one’s forcing you to read that, you know.” Her eyes snapped up to look at Gwiboon, a piece of fabric held between the older girl’s hands. “So stop acting so bored. It’s annoying.”

“I’m not  _ bored _ .” A perfectly-sculpted eyebrow was raised in question. “It’s just… when do I get my price charming?” Gwiboon snorted and turned back to her sewing. “I’m s _ erious. _ ”

“When you turn into a pretty princess with life handed to you on a silver platter.” Taeyeon pouted, but Gwiboon didn’t react at all. “There’s no one in real life like the princes in your books, so stop reading them if they make you so depressed.”

“I like to read,  _ thank you very much _ .” She slammed the book closed, pushing away from the table with her chair screeching on the floor loudly. “I’ll be at the library, if Jinki asks.”

“Shouldn’t you tell him before going out?” Taeyeon didn’t answer.

...

A gentle hand on her shoulder stirred Taeyeon from her deep sleep and she jumped, whipping around in her chair to face a cold-faced Minho. “Go home.”

“S-sorry.” She closed the book that had become her pillow, standing and bowing multiple times before starting to walk away.

“Leave the book.”

“Excuse me?”

Minho’s hand was outstretched, palm facing up and empty. “Leave it. Now.”

“B-but—”

“Girls shouldn’t be reading. It gives them thoughts that they aren’t meant to have.” He shook his hand a little. “Give it.”

“But it’s mine…”

“It’s your brother’s and I’ll make sure it goes to the  _ rightful owner. _ ” Minho didn’t wait for her to respond, leaning forward and plucking it from her loose grip. “Run along now.”

“Yah! You can’t just take my book because you think I shouldn’t be reading it!”

“I can’t?” He tipped his head slightly to the right, eyes wide as a smirk grew on his lips. “Ah~ but I just did.” His free hand rose slightly and he waved it gently, shooing her off. “Go. Get out. Stay away from here.”

“Give me my book back!” A few men across the room chuckled and she was quick to turn and face them, eyes piercing as she scanned along the line of the amused faces. “ _ Right now _ , Choi Minho!”

He laughed right in her angry face, eyes twinkling with amusement. “You want it?” His arm reached up, holding the book a few feet above his too-tall head. “Come and get it.” Taeyeon huffed, arms crossed over her chest as she glared up at the red-bound pages out of her reach. Minho only laughed harder. “Maybe if girls were meant to read, it would have taught you something to get this. However—” he wasn’t ready for the foot that hit his crotch painfully and as he and the book went down to the ground, Taeyeon only giggled.

With a smile, she bent down in front of his crouched form, picking up the book carefully as she looked at him. “Thank you very much. I’m going to go home and enjoy this now.” Minho could only watch with tearing eyes as she righted herself, flattening the wrinkles formed in her skirt as she started to walk off. Only after she was out the door did he start to pick himself up from the wooden floor, and under the stares of the many men in the room, the librarian tucked himself away into the shelves. Using the cart of books to keep himself upright as he faked sorting them, his embarrassment could not be hidden even slightly.

...

Taeyeon was humming as she walked through the streets, book clasped tightly in her hands and eyes turned towards the shades of red and purple and pink that took over the sky with the setting sun. Mindlessly she ambled along the cobblestone path, looking above and not ahead of herself.

It was only when she stumbled and fell to the ground with a thud, book flying from her hands, that she was forced to look at the path again. And curled up pitifully before her was a matted black dog, head still resting on its folded paws as eyes languidly following her every move as she scrambled for the book without removing her eyes from the animal. After having it firmly clasped in her hold again, she slowly planted her feet on the ground and started to stand, pushing the wire frames that had slid down her nose back up. The dog gave a soft whine when she took a step back and immediately she froze, but it did not move. When her foot lifted and crawled back again, a louder whine came from its mouth, lasting until she placed her foot back down in the original position. “I’m really sorry Mr. Doggy but I must be getting home.” Ignoring the whine that came again, she started to walk backwards, only turning her back on the animal when she hit the corner and turned to run.

Not once did the dog move.

...

Taeyeon jumped when an arm snaked around her waist in the middle of the market, an unfamiliar hold that chilled her to the bone and sent shivers down her spine when the voice crept into her ears. “Finally putting down your books and being a proper woman?”

“Getting some fabric for my sister-in-law, thank you very much.” She shrugged out of Minho’s hold, moving down the line of the stall to compare two different shades of red in her hands to another that laid on the table.

“It’s really a shame. If you were better behaved, I wouldn’t mind having you as my wife.”

“I’d mind having you as my husband.” All three were returned to the proper places and she turned to shades of blue instead.

“It’s things like reading that give you ideas like that.”

“Ideas like what?”

“That your opinion matters.” A few men listening on the conversation snorted or laughed at the comment and Minho was smirking when Taeyeon turned to him with fiery eyes.

“At least I know how to behave properly to someone I am supposed to be betrothed to.”

“Oh really?” Minho quirked an eyebrow. “You call this  _ behaving properly _ ? I’m afraid of you improper behavior then!”

“I know to not blatantly insult you, at least. My comments are hidden well enough to sneak past your thick skull unnoticed.” She placed the fabric in her left hand down, turning to the seller with a smile as she held out the other. “This one please.” As it was tied up, she reached into the folds of her dress, producing a money pouch just as Minho slipped a few bills to the seller and took the bundle. With a smile, he held it out to Taeyeon, and she took it with a huff. With only a forced smile to the old lady behind the stand, she turned and continued down the market street with Minho still tailing.

And that was how it was, him following her as she continued to do all of her errands—buying Gwiboon some more thread from her favorite vendor, her favorite tea from the shop tucked into the corner, some ingredients for the dinner that was to be made that night, finally ending it by paying for Jinki’s newest order of flour for their bakery and arranging the delivery of it for later that evening. Minho never left.

It was walking down one of the quieter streets that she realized why he was still shadowing her. A hand had grabbed onto her wrist and yanked, sending her stumbling backwards on the uneven stones, and Minho was quick to push her against the wall of the nearest building without a care for the bruises it would cause her back. He pinned her there, using his height to lean over her and give no means for escape as his breath fanned across her face. “Don’t you  _ dare _ to ever embarrass me like you did in the library ever again. You should be glad I’m saving your face as my fiancée. Betrothed to anyone else and your reading would be a crime. Girls are not meant to read.”

“If we weren’t meant to read, then we wouldn’t be able to.”

“And you shouldn’t be.” Minho got even closer, until his nose was less than a centimeter from hers. “You also better learn how to behave. Understand?”

“Who are you to tell me that? My father?”

“I’m going to be your husband.”

“Oh really?” She tipped her head as much to the right as she could, pitch raising with the question. “I thought you didn’t want me.”

“I don’t want your attitude.” He licked his lips, breath tickling Taeyeon’s face as her loose hairs not in her braid fluttered ever-so-gently from it. “But I definitely want  _ you _ .” She had no idea what was happening as he leaned forward, but right as his lips started to graze hers, he jumped back, curses spewing from his mouth. “Get off you fucking mutt!” He kicked the black dog right in the center of its chest, but it still cling onto his ankle. Only after Minho stumbled over the uneven stones himself and fell did the dog let go. Clutching his bloodied ankle, Minho could do nothing as the edge of Taeyeon’s skirt was grabbed in the dog’s mouth and as it started to pull her away. By the time he was able to stand and start to give chase, the dog and girl were gone.

And he was turning back towards the crowded town square, screaming at the top of his lungs about the rabid attacking dog that just kidnapped his fiancée.

...

Taeyeon was stumbling more and more as the dog’s speed picked up and as cobbled streets turned to worn dirt paths littered with twigs and stones. “Listen right now Mr. Doggy! You had better stop and let me go—” she pitched forward over a particularly large stone, falling with a cloud of dirt around her onto the ground. Almost immediately, the dog was looming over her face and just as she expected the dark purples of the almost-night sky to be the last thing she ever saw, a tongue was lapping at her face, sending slobber everywhere as she squirmed in every direction for an escape that could not be found.

It was only after she jolted up that Taeyeon was free from the facial-washing, the dog sitting its rump down heavily and producing a loud whine as it tipped its head to the side, tail wagging quickly behind it. For a few seconds, Taeyeon only stared in amazement before bursting into laughter, hand reaching out to scratch between the two raised ears. “Were you just making sure I was okay?” She might have imagined it, but she could swear the dog nodded. After a little while of the break, however, a nose was nudging her leg up, the whines getting louder and more agitated. “Are you okay?” The nudging got worse. “Do you want me to come with you?” Slowly, she picked herself up and sure enough, as soon as she was on her feet, Taeyeon was being led away by the animal. “Can you go just a little slower?”

Maybe the dog really did understand her because for the briefest of moments, the steps slowed, only to pick up double-speed. And Taeyeon only sighed as she started to jog to keep up.

...

The rain had started over an hour before they had reached the doors of the empty-looking building. Taeyeon was soaked to the bone and shivering, not even questioning when the dog nudged the door open and trotted it, looking over its shoulder constantly to make sure she followed.

A hat rack hopped over and Taeyeon sighed in relief as she stripped off her soaked outer layer, hanging it over the arm with a quick “thank you” before stripping out of the other layers and into the ankle-length nightgown that had been dragged in by the candlestick with another soft “thank you” and brushed her hair with the hairbrush supplied by the rug before it dawned on her—these objects were not meant to be moving  _ or giving her things. _

When she screamed, just about everything in the room flew up an inch before setting again and the dog was there, running around her legs and barking and pulling gently on the hem of the gown. “Oh please stop honey, you’re giving me a migraine.” Her scream faltered as her eyes flew to the candlestick rubbing its arms on the top of the dripping candle where the flame was burning low. “Thank you sweetie.”

“You—you—you—”

“Come on, spit it out, you can do it.” She jumped at the muffled voice from the hat rack. “And can you  _ please _ remove your clothes from my head as you do so. It’s quite hard to hear.” Shaking hands reached out, barely grabbing onto the fabric to pull it off before dropping it down. Almost immediately, the dog ran forward to pick the pile up in its mouth and run off out of the room. The top of the rack shook itself before straightening. “Ah, much better. As you were saying, Soo?”

“Stop being a baby Kai.” Taeyeon jumped off the rug when the tassels shook with the voice. “She got me  _ soaked _ and even  _ walked on me _ and I can’t do anything about that.”

“You’re all  _ talking _ .” Everything in the room froze.

“You can hear us?” She whipped to face her right only to come up empty handed—it was only when she looked down towards the small chipped cup by her foot that she realized where the small voice had come from. “Do you hear that Xiu? She can hear us!” A slightly-larger cup hopped up to the other. “She can hear us! She must be the special one for mas—”

“If you would come this way please,” a teapot hopped slightly on the rug to pull her attention away from the two cups, “and remove your shoes. We just finished cleaning the floor and it would be a shame for it to be ruined again.”

“Oh shush Suho, we can do anything for our guest. If she wants her shoes on, she can have them.” The candle stick tapped on of its arms gently on the top of the pot. “Treat her nicely.”

Taeyeon just slowly slid off the cloth slippers she had been wearing, leaving them right by the door as she slowly padded after the parade of moving and talking objects barefoot.

Maybe she had been knocked unconscious when she hit the wall. That seemed to be the only explanation.

...

She had no memories of falling asleep, but Taeyeon woke to a dog laying on her chest and licking her face. As soon as her eyes opened, the dog stood and climbed off—not without crushing practically all of her internal organs, but it was still endearing thinking of the animal that had kept her  _ so warm _ in the cold room. A soft tug on her sleeve had her slowly standing from the couch she had been on, pulling her out into a wide open room with a long table set with only one place. “What is this?”

“You can’t expect us to starve you, can you?” The small chipped cup bounced on the corner of the table. “Besides, master would be very mad if he found out we didn’t give you the upmost best treatment possible! He said so himself!” One of the bounces was just a little off-balance and he tumbled off the edge of the table, just barely being caught by Taeyeon before he hit the ground. With a little giggle, he spun as best he could in her hand. “Thank you! Master would be very angry if Tao got another chip on himself!”

“What did I say about annoying our guest, Tao?” The rug slithered out from under the table without Taeyeon even realizing it had been there to begin with. “She doesn’t care about you and your idiotic ways.”

“Suho! Hunnie’s being mean again!” There was a muffled sigh from the corner with the cabinet and Taeyeon’s eyes could only grow wider than their already-wide shocked state as the door opened and the teapot hopped to the edge.

“Sehun, stop bothering him. Tao, stop causing problems.” It turned slightly towards Taeyeon in the doorway and the spout seemed to have gotten a little higher as the voice became more energetic. “Oh, Miss, go right ahead and sit! Dinner will be out in just a minute!” With a mechanical nod, Taeyeon placed the cup gently back on the table and slowly sat in the chair. The empty plate before her seemed mocking almost as her stomach grumbled but no food was there. “Lay should be finished soon and Kyungsoo will make sure to bring everything out as soon as it is ready.”

...

As the meal finished, Taeyeon barely got to lift her own napkin before it was being done for her, a small feather duster perched on the arm of her chair doing the job for her. “There you are, sweetie!” Slowly, gently, it patted along her mouth just Taeyeon had been about to do, dropping the cloth on the table after she was finished. “I am to lead you to your room if you come this—”

“Can I come with you, Victoria? Please? Please please please?” The chipped cup—Tao, Taeyeon barely remembered he was called—bounced to their end of the table. “Pretty pretty please?”

The handle of the duster dropped just slightly and Taeyeon could have sworn it sighed. “Fine, Tao. But  _ behave _ .”

“Yay!” He tumbled off the edge, the moving rug—Sehun, was it?—catching him right before hitting the ground. “Thank you Hunnie! Let’s go miss!” Eagerly, he hopped around her feet, not stopping until Taeyeon stood and slowly shuffled after the hopping cup and twirling duster. The halls were completely empty as they went through, the eyes of pictures following Taeyeon’s every movement as she hurried after them. “So what’s your name, Miss? I’m Tao and that meanie is Victoria.”

“I can hear you, you know.” The feathers ruffled slightly. “Stop bothering her.”

“I’m Taeyeon.” She could imagine the stumble after his hop was from excitement and wasn’t disappointed when he turned around. As the gold pattern on him moved she realized with a start that it was a face—a face smiling at her.

“Oh miss has such a pretty name!” He stumbled again, tipping over and rolling helplessly. Without a second thought, Taeyeon crouched down and picked the small cup up in her hands, continuing to walk with him face-level now. “Thank you very much!”

“This is your room.” A creaking from the door the duster pushed open interrupted Taeyeon before she could start to speak. “Don’t break anything and don’t wander around. If you are needed, one of us will come to you. Understand?”

She dipped her head to the duster as best she could, hair falling in her face. “Thank you very much.”

“Oh no,  _ thank you _ .” Before she could question what was implied, the duster was leaving and taking Tao with her. And Taeyeon was left alone.

...

It was after over a week of seeing just the large bedroom and attached study that Taeyeon snapped, glaring at the black dog as it slinked in pushing her lunch on a silver platter along. “Don’t you have a library I can go to?” The dog stopped, tipped its head to the side, and then slowly shook it. With a bark, it pushed the platter further. “I’m not eating unless I can get out of here.”

The platters sat on the opposite side of the room for three days, all completely untouched as one meal was exchanged for another constantly. And for three days, Taeyeon sat at the window, looking out and only moving when she went to bed, taking the place again early the next morning.

On the fourth day, a storm shook the mansion, lightening constantly lighting up the sky as windows shook from thunder and rain came in almost sideways. When the dog came along to deliver dinner, Taeyeon was nowhere to be found in the room. It took only a minute for the animal to crawl under the bed to her shaking form, curling up around the girl. As a wet nose pressed into her cheek and a wet tongue slowly licked her neck, Taeyeon could almost hear the question. “I don’t like storms. They scare me.” There was a noise almost like a purr and the dog curled even closer.

It was only when the rain stopped the next morning that a naked girl squirmed out from under the frame, pulling a sleeping girl with her. Carefully, she placed the other in bed and tucked her in before scurrying out, feet barely making a noise on the ground.

...

The fifth day, Taeyeon ate breakfast slowly, the dog curled into her side with a book laid in front of them. “Did you get this from the library for me?” There was a lazy blink in answer. “That was stupid. Of course you did. So thank you.” As a hand started to scratch between her ears, the dog started to drift off into sleep, and it wasn’t long before she was out completely and snoring.

And that was when the door cracked open, a certain little cup hopping in with another following. “Taeyeon, come on, we’re breaking you out.” She raised an eyebrow at the chipped cup, who seemed to take on a rose shade as he stumbled over his next words. “I-I mean, Xiumin and I, we wanted to help, you don’t want to be here—”

“If you want to see something besides this room, follow us.” Taeyeon slowly untangled from the sleeping dog to climb off the bed, book clasped in her hand as she hurried after the two. 

“Where are you taking me?”

“Master’s study!” Tao hopped up higher, spinning in the air before landing. “There’s so many books and Amber said you love books so we—”

“Who’s Amber?”

Both stopped hopping at the same time and turned to each other, drawn-on mouths widening in shock. “Y-you don’t know?”

“But she was just—”

“Amber is Master’s—”

“Black dog—”

“Said you were nice to her—”

“Master’s completely different sister.” Taeyeon could feel her mind spinning, trying to connect the sentences the two had cut off from each other, slowly piecing it together.

A certain  _ Amber _ was asleep in her bed. Suddenly, it all made sense, it seemed.

...

Instead of going to the study, she had the two tell her more about everything and with every word that tumbled from the two, Taeyeon could feel her heart breaking more and more.

“So Master turned her down and this girl went crazy.”

“She was an enchantress. And she wanted revenge.”

“She casted a spell on all of us. Like  _ poof _ the whole mansion just—”

“Walking—”

“Talking—”

“Objects.” Xiumin’s handles moved up and down slightly, as if he was shrugging. “All of us. Except Master and his sister.”

“Amber is lucky. She changes back to human every now and then.”

“But she can’t talk when she’s a dog, Tao. That’s pretty bad for her.”

“Master has it worse though.”

“Oh he definitely does.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Taeyeon tipped her head slightly to the side, eyes wide. “Can I do anything to help?”

“Why would you want to?”

“He’s just an arrogant snotty prince.”

“All he did was whine.”

“And he’d boss us all around.”

“He isn’t even all that nice looking.”

“He’s really mean too.” Tao practically growled out the words. “He yelled at me once for accidentally chipping a cup because he opened a door into me and hot tea spilt all over me and I dropped it.”

“Well…” Taeyeon gave a hard swallow, forcing a small smile onto her face as she clapped her hands on her knees once, “everyone has goodness in them. Sometimes they just hide it in being bad because they think it is weakness. And from what you told me, it seems like your master did that.”

“Why would he ever?”

“Didn’t you say his parents died a few years ago?” She took their silence as conformation. “And he had his sister to take care of. I know when my parents died, my brother did everything to take care of me too. Maybe your master felt so stressed in acting tough that he’s tricked himself into thinking being good means he isn’t tough.”

“What can you do to change that though?”

“Just watch me.”

...

The door to the foreign room didn’t even squeak as she pushed it open slowly. Her feet padded softly on the ground as Taeyeon crept in, eyes trained on the large sleeping dog curled up on the bed. When she hit a loose board and a creak resounded around the room, she froze, but it was too late. The head whipped up and towards her, beady eyes trained on her and staring hard. A growl ripped from the dog’s throat and she put her hands up in the air, not moving forward not back. “Hey hey it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” A louder growl came. “You sister brought me here.”

Immediately, he stopped, eyes blinking and turning more human for just a second before shifting back to the animalistic beads. Sharp teeth were bared as Taeyeon took a slight step forward. “I just want to give you something. It’s okay.” A tray was pushed in from the outside by the two cups out of sight and she bent down without moving her eyes from the dog, slowly pulling out a hunk of meat on a platter and pushing it across the floor to him. “It’s okay. Your chefs prepared it.”

Slowly, the dog crawled to the edge of the bed, eyes trained on Taeyeon even as his head bent down and grabbed the food, pulling it up onto the blanket and staining it as he suddenly tore it apart. Taeyeon could only watch in morbid fascination as the meat was gone in seconds. When the eyes flickered back to her, still animal-like, she took a step back quickly. A growl tore from the dog’s mouth and she froze, door slamming shut on its own behind her. Immediately, the sounds of the two cups hitting on it came, but nothing was done for it to be open. She had no plan of what to do now as the dog slowly stood and jumped down, slinking up to her with white hair on edge and sharp teeth bared.

And just when Taeyeon thought she was seeing the last moments of her life, a large head nuzzled into her leg.

...

It was eventually the black dog that forced the doors open and came into the room to find Taeyeon lying on the bed, a white furry head resting on her stomach making a noise akin to purring while the girl read. Before she knew it, the black dog joined, curling up on her other side and resting her head on the skirt-clothed legs. And when night fell, the trio were still there, Taeyeon still reading, as the dogs snored on together on her.

The next morning, she woke with a start, sweating from unexplainable heat until the unnaturally large white dog lifted his head sleepily. Human-like eyes blinked at her and Taeyeon tried her best to smile, even as a large tongue shot out and licked right up her face. A hand rose and tangled itself in the fur between the two pointed ears, scratching for a second before pulling away. “I’m going to go get cleaned up, okay? And I’ll be back as soon as I’ve had breakfast.” A whine came from the dog and as Taeyeon stood, a paw clamped down on the back of her skirt, keeping her near the bed. With a huff, she whipped around, finger raised and pointed right at him. “Listen, mister, I don’t do that. You are going to get me go do what I want to and I’ll be back and you are going to wait and behave. You got it?”

There was a pause where the dog blinked, but suddenly, a noise came from deep in his throat, nothing like the various sounds she’d heard from him before. It took a seconds to realize he was  _ laughing _ . “I’ll make sure to get you the worst piece of meat then. And I’ll eat the best right in front of you.” She turned heel, walking away just as the laughter came to an abrupt halt. Taeyeon barely held her smile until the door was closed behind her, giggling into her hand the second the wood clicked back into place.

...

Taeyeon was already stripped out of her dress and in just her undergarments when she realized there was another actual live  _ person _ in the room. With a squeal, she jumped for a too-long shirt that had been in the drawers when she got there, slipping it over herself just as the person in the bed bolted up, hair in disarray and eyes squinted from sleep. “Oh. You.” The girl yawned, stretching back without a care that she was naked and showcasing her body to a blushing Taeyeon. “Weren’t you in bed with my brother?”

“Ch-changing…”

“Oh!” Amber jumped a little, startling herself awake and sprouting ears on top of her head at the same time. “I really don’t have much time now but I have so much to say. Listen closely, okay?” Taeyeon gave a quick confused nod. “My brother’s name is Jonghyun and there’s this enchantress who—”

“I heard all of that already.”

“You did?” Amber’s head tilted to the side, one of her ears raising more than the other. “Oh. That helps a lot. Do you know how to help him th—” she stopped with a start, hairy hands flying to her mouth to feel the sharp canines pressing into her lips. The next words she tried didn’t come out clear enough to be understood by either and Taeyeon could only watch with wide eyes as she painfully transformed right there in front of her.

Only after a small black dog was sitting on her bed did Taeyeon move, hands held out as she crept forward slowly. “A-are you okay?” Amber nodded quickly, giving a small bark before jumping off the bed. Teeth grabbed onto the edge of the shirt as it fell by her knees as Taeyeon followed after Amber as she took off, only grabbing a long robe on her way out.

...

She didn’t get her breakfast before being returned to Jonghyun’s room, Amber nudging the door closed with a final-sounding  _ click _ behind her. Jonghyun’s head perked up, eyes following her and a growl ripping from his throat at the lack of food. “Blame your sister, not me. She didn’t give me breakfast either.” Taeyeon didn’t hesitate to sit on the side of Jonghyun’s bed, hand reaching up to scratch between his ears.

When he bit her, however, she pulled back with a yelp. “Yah! Don’t do that!” The growl deepened, teeth bared and slobber dripping as his beady eyes followed her every motion as she held her hand tight and started to look at it. “You made me bleed! Not nice!”

A deep bark has her head whipping up, eyes going wide as Jonghyun crouched. Without warning, he pounced, and she barely got her arms up to cover her face and hide from the oncoming attack.

But it never came. There was a screech, a thump and then a louder thud, as the smaller black dog tackled him, sending them both flying into the floor. Ornaments around the room started to fall and shatter as they both stood, growling and barking and biting air. Taeyeon could only watch, unable to move and mind barely processing the events happening in front of her. Jonghyun was the first one to jump, teeth aimed right at Amber’s neck and not a shred of regret in his eyes as he snapped at the air less than an inch away.

Amber didn’t back down, growling right back at him and using her smaller body, pushing him back and away. They were a tangle of black and white, saliva flying everywhere as they leapt and dodged and struck. Whenever teeth landed in the black dog’s body, she yelped and squirmed out, blood oozing into her fur, but Jonghyun didn’t once make a noise of pain as his white fur started to become mixed with red.

It was only when a candlestick, a teapot, and a feather duster were pushing her out that Taeyeon finally shook off her haze and ran from the room.

...

Taeyeon hissed as Kyungsoo pressed on the red-stained cloth wrapped around her hand. “Does it still hurt?” Narrowed eyes flickered up as him and the flames on his candles dimmed. “Sorry. Does it hurt any less?”

“Not really.”

“The good news is,” the teapot cut in, “he didn’t do any damage besides some deep cuts.” More than one object turned to glare at Suho. “I mean… he could have bit your hand off, right?”

“He wouldn’t have.” Taeyeon’s hands curled into fists, despite the pain it caused her. “He might be an animal, but he was human once, was he not?”

More than one of the servants snorted. “Barely.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t have been the kindest in his situation either, if what I’ve heard is true. His parents leave and are killed, he tries to protect his little sister, and then this enchantress comes along and he turns her down and she just goes crazy on him?” Her teeth worried her lip to the point of breaking the skin, blood seeping into her mouth even after she stopped. “I get it. Her curse changed all of you guys too, but think of his hatred. You guys can talk and go on with normal things. But he can’t talk and he’s locked up in a tower and his mind is being invaded by this animal side of him. Not to mention, he probably feels horrible for all of you guys being dragged into this.” Taeyeon stood from the chair, moving away from the multiple objects that tried to stop her. “I’m going to make him something to eat and go there myself to clean him up.”

...

A small foot knocked gently on the door before Taeyeon pushed it open with her hip, tray balanced in her arms as she entered. “I brought you some food, Jonghyun… And some things to take care of you cuts.” The dog’s head raised lazily from his paws, eyes in pain and following her every move. “Your sister’s okay and sleeping downstairs. She feels really bad for having to fight with you.” He blinked slowly, head sinking back to his paws with a deep sigh. “Hey, it’s okay. She doesn’t blame you. She knows you weren’t in control of yourself then.” They eyes drifted to her wrapped hand and Taeyeon gave a small smile. “I don’t blame you either. I know you didn’t mean it.”

Lethargically, his tail started to wag a little and Taeyeon gave a small laugh like bells in the room. “Let’s get you cleaned up and then you can make fun of my poor cooking skills. Or, my lack of cooking skills, since your oven refused to let me cook the meat in him, saying it was unsanitary.” Jonghyun gave what she took as a small snort, and Taeyeon perched herself on the edge of the bed, tray placed on the table next to it. She placed a bowl with a rag next to her and slowly, started to clean the fur back to the pristine white it was. “I wonder why you and Amber have different colors…” There wasn’t an answer, but a nose nudged it’s was into her side and soon, Taeyeon had a sleeping dog on her lap. Without a thought, she leant down and placed a light kiss right in the middle of his forehead, but the dog didn’t stir.

After cleaning him completely, Jonghyun still hadn’t woken. And even though it was still only late afternoon, Taeyeon felt a sleepiness come over her, making her mind run slower and slower until she eventually laid down next to him and curled into the dog’s side. In seconds, she was out like a light.

...

And she came to not much later to dozens of screaming voices as the door was thrown open. “Master Jonghyun! We are—” Taeyeon jolted from Jonghyun’s arms, eyes wide as Tao stood frozen in the doorway looking at them. It didn’t take long for her turn back to Jonghyun, finding herself face-to-face with a wide-eyed, shocked, puppy-like man. In less than a second, her eyes were slammed shut as she turned the other way, blush coating her cheeks and next. Jonghyun was fumbling for the blanket, covering his less-than-decent form. “I-I’m going to go now, Master…”

“T-Tao, wait—” His voice was scratchy from years of disuse, little noise actually coming, and the door slammed before he was heard. “Listen, miss, I’ll be changed in a minute and then—”

“I’ll be in my room…” She didn’t look as him or even open her eyes as she stood, stumbling blindly to the door and throwing it open to walk out, slamming it shut behind her.

Alone, Jonghyun fell back on his bed with a groan, body slumping into the mattress. “I have no idea what is happening.”

...

“Are you sure you didn’t do anything to him?”

“Anything at all?”

“No accidental kiss while he licked you or anything?”

Taeyeon sighed, hands running through her hair and messing it up as she looked around the table at all of the servants and then down to the secluded Jonghyun at the end. “I didn’t do anything. Nothing besides cleaning his cuts.”

“Are you—”

“Wait…” She squeezed her eyes shut, head falling forward onto the table with a small thump that almost had people jumping to help her. “I kissed his forehead. When he was sleeping. To make him feel better, because you do that to babies and such and so, I just did.” There were muffled laughs around the table and she looked up at Jonghyun at the other end. “I really didn’t mean to do so without your permission.”

He didn’t say anything, just blinked at her for a few times, and then stood so quick the chair flew out from behind him and hit the ground with a clatter. No one moved as he stalked down the table to Taeyeon’s seat, pulling her chair back with enough force to make her squeak and look at him with fear. But, without warning, he dropped to his knees, head falling into her lap as he shoulders shook with silent sobs. “Thank you so much for saving all of them.”

...

Taeyeon held his hand tighter, leading the way through the crowds in the marketplace. More than one person shouted to her, but she didn’t listen to anyone telling her to stop until she reached the place she was looking for. Carefully, she led the way through the door and made her way to the counter, hitting the bell three times for good measure. Immediately, two pairs of feet came scurrying and she could only give a small smile as Gwiboon froze in the doorway from the kitchen, Jinki hitting her from behind since she stoop and winding his arms around her waist to keep her from falling. “Tae…”

“I’ve missed you, Jinks.”

She was prepared for Gwiboon to practically vault the counter, slamming into her full-force in a hug as Jonghyun steadied her from behind. Jinki was more civil, coming around before hugging the two of them together. But after a minute, both pulled back. “Where do you think you’ve been, miss? It’s been a month! Minho said you were dead!”

“I would have been, and it would have been he who killed me.” Jonghyun’s grip on her waist tightened just slightly, and Taeyeon leaned back into him. “But this is Jonghyun. His sister helped me and took me to their mansion in the forest. They saved me. And…” she trailed off, looking over her shoulder at the man for a second.

“And?”

“And I’m engaged to him.”


End file.
